Next on Planet Lean: Jim Womack’s new column – Yokoten

EDITOR’S LETTER – Don’t forget to come back to Planet Lean tomorrow: Jim Womack’s new column, Yokoten, is coming and you don’t want to miss it.

Words: Roberto Priolo, Editor, Planet Lean

As one of the founding fathers of the lean movement, Jim Womack has spent the past three decades studying the lean methodology, sharing what he learned, and encouraging us to embrace change in our organizations.

Almost 25 years have gone by since The Machine That Changed the World was published, and it is still easier to find Jim on a gemba than anywhere else. To this day, it is by observing lean behavior and dynamics, reflecting on them and sharing the insights that Jim helps us to become (better) lean thinkers.

Keynotes, e-letters, books – there are many ways in which Jim has chosen to share his knowledge and experience in the past. I am delighted to announce that starting tomorrow (and every last Tuesday of the month going forward) Planet Lean will have the honor to host his new column, called Yokoten.

At Toyota, this term refers to the transfer of knowledge horizontally across an organization and its supply chain and, by extension, across the world.

And isn’t this what Jim does whenever he gets on a plane to go somewhere on Planet Lean, taking with him lean ideas and methods to share, along with evidence of their power?

The Yokoten column will be used to summarize and share lean concepts and ideas, backed up with experimental evidence, and to provide useful tips to help organizations tackle their every-day challenges. It will be an incredible addition to Planet Lean, and I have no doubt it will greatly contribute to the website’s mission to spread knowledge and understanding of lean worldwide. I would like to thank Jim for continuously inspiring our lean journeys, and for choosing Planet Lean to spread the good word.

Come back tomorrow to read the first Yokoten column, and let us know what you think!

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Planet Lean is the official online magazine of the Lean Global Network, launched in February 2014 as a platform to share LGN's knowledge of and experience with lean thinking and practice around the world. Through story-telling, in-depth analysis, thought-provoking opinion and practical gemba-based advice, Planet Lean has quickly become an important voice in the…

WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – On October 10, 1990 the book that introduced lean thinking to the world was published. Twenty-five years after Machine, one of the authors reflects on what the lean movement has achieved and on what is slowing it down.